Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Are You Using Too Much Heavy Cream in Your Coffee?


I ran into an interesting thread over at Low Carb Friends today. One of the senior members has lost almost 50 pounds, but he stalled a few pounds above goal weight several weeks ago. Like most of us who have experienced a stall at one time or another, he felt frustrated, but at least he was able to hold onto what he has accomplished so far.

When Stalled, First Take a Serious Look at Your Eating Habits

Although most low carbers don’t want to hear that the last few pounds often require you to take a serious look at your current eating habits, and make adjustments, the man decided to take someone’s advice, and take a look. He carefully weighed out his food and beverages for a few days, and recorded everything he was eating and drinking.

His largest calorie hog?

Heavy whipping cream in his coffee. Considering the way many low carbers fix their coffee in the morning, I wasn’t surprised.

Cup of Coffee With Heavy Cream
Are You Using Too Much Heavy Cream in Your Coffee?
(Photo by Timothy Boyd)

Are Fat Additives Slowing Down Your Weight Loss?

The calories in heavy whipping cream and sugar substitutes can add up quickly, especially if you drink several cups of coffee a day and you aren’t measuring how much you’re using. In this case, the culprit was 4 to 5 cups of coffee per day. At 50 to 60 calories per tablespoon, depending upon the brand, that added a whopping 800 calories to his daily low-carb diet plan because he discovered he was using 3-1/2 tablespoons of heavy cream per cup of coffee.

Add to that, the extra-virgin olive oil, real butter, and coconut oil that many low-carbers enjoy daily, and it’s easy to be tipping the scales with over 1,000 calories in fat additives. That’s just additives, not the fat that comes with your meat or in your eggs and cheese. So, the man decided to cut back on his use of heavy cream, and report back.

His post encouraged others to come forward, which was unusual for Low Carb Friends, because most of the time the Party Line over there is “up your fats” regardless of what’s wrong. It was nice to see a helpful post for a change. A post that addressed the real issues, instead of some fantasy wish. Our metabolisms and disorders are all so different, and up the fat isn’t always the right answer. Sometimes, the answer is to lower it.

It’s only when you keep a close eye on what you’re eating and drinking,  that you can make educated decisions to benefit your low-carb lifestyle and eating plan. If you don’t know what you’re eating and drinking, you can’t make the necessary changes that will enable you to reach your weight-loss goals.

The Danger of Focusing Only On Carbs

Like most low-carb folks, this particular person lost those 45 pounds mindlessly, by focusing only on carbohydrates. If you only have 30 or 40 pounds to lose, from beginning to end, that might work nicely for you. But for those of us who started out with over a hundred pounds to lose, it’s a completely different ballgame.

From what I’ve seen throughout the years, 50 pounds seems to be about the maximum that works mindlessly. After that, you have to either count calories, start paying attention to quantities or serving sizes, or find some other way to limit the amount of food you’re eating. Why? Because a smaller body needs fewer calories to function, and because dieting itself will lower our metabolisms by at least 10%.

The three nutrients we have to work with are protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Since the amount of protein you eat should be set to maintain your muscle mass, and carbs should be set in line with your insulin sensitivity or resistance, that only leaves dietary fats to play with. Yet, it’s dietary fats that bring the loudest noise and controversy.

Box of Organic Heavy Whipping Cream
It's NORMAL to Have to Lower Your Fats As You Approach Goal Weight
(Photo by Craig Dugas)
People just don’t want to hear that it’s NORMAL to have to lower your dietary fats as you get nearer and nearer to goal. They fell in love with the high fat intake they could get away with when they weighed over 200 pounds, and they want that love affair to continue. The danger in doing that, of course, is that at some point, you will balance your calorie intake and energy output and you’ll hit maintenance before you’re ready to stop dieting.

To Reach Your Dietary Goals, Calories Matter

Most people who have actually reached goal weight doing a low-carb diet will tell you that when you get close to goal weight, calories matter. For me, calories started to matter about 50 pounds into my journey. Although cutting down portion sizes isn’t a fun prospect, the lengths to which you have to go depends on your current dietary habits and tastes.

Cutting calories doesn’t have to be brutal. It can be more like a gentle wave if you can find a bit of wiggle room, such as the amount of heavy cream in your coffee or protein shakes. While some people have switched from heavy cream to organic half-and-half, others prefer to cut down on the amount of coffee they drink instead of going lighter. It’s all a matter of what’s important to you, and what you can live with, of course.

The idea isn’t to cut down to the point to where you feel deprived. The point is to take an honest, realistic look at what you’re doing right now, and make simple, almost unnoticeable adjustments you can live with. For example, this man decided to give up one cup of coffee per day. Instead of four cups, he lowered his coffee drinking to three. He also dropped his 3-1/2 tablespoons of heavy cream per cup to 2 level tablespoons instead.  

 The result? The weight started coming off again, and quickly.

Where Are YOUR Calories Sneaking In?

Bowl of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Boxes
Where Are YOUR Calories Sneaking In?
(Photo by Yarden Sachs)
Everyone doesn’t abuse the heavy cream they pour into their coffee. Some people use lots of heavy cream in their protein shakes or chocolate pudding. Others mindlessly use high-fat cream sauces with lots of butter and cream cheese, eat coconut oil off of a spoon, pop chunks of cream cheese into their mouths for a snack, or stir a quarter of a cup or more of mayonnaise into their tuna or egg salad. Just because heavy cream in your coffee isn’t your downfall, that doesn’t mean there aren’t excess calories sneaking into your diet.

So, where are YOUR calories sneaking in?

If you’ve made similar discoveries of your own, please take a moment and share what you’ve learned in the comments section below.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo With a Low-Carb Fiesta!

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo With a Low-Carb Fiesta!
(Photo by Paul Stein)


I’ve never been able to get too excited about low-carb recipes that try to trick your mind into believing you’re eating something that tastes as good as the high-carb foods and recipes you used to love. Because they don’t. If the mind is craving potato salad, steamed cauliflower mixed with mayo isn’t going to taste like potatoes. Even when you add pickles, olives, chopped hard-boiled eggs, and green onions to make it look like potato salad, it’s still going to taste like cauliflower mixed with mayo. Something similar happens to the taste buds when you try to make your own low-carb tortillas.

Since I don’t eat low-carb tortillas, it has been difficult coming up with a list of decent low-carb substitutes for the tacos, enchiladas, and burritos that are traditionally used to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. If your carbohydrate tolerance has room for an occasional 30 to 35 net-carb dinner, or you can safely eat 60 net carbs per day, you can do alright with a couple of corn tortillas (22 net carbs, 120 calories), salad, and vegetables, but many low-carb dieters cannot afford to eat that many carbs at a single meal.

What is Cinco de Mayo?


Cinco de Mayo means the fifth of May. It’s often confused with Mexican Independence Day, but it celebrates their liberation from European invaders that occurred during the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Surprisingly, Cinco de Mayo isn’t a major holiday in Mexico. It’s only celebrated in the state of Puebla, where the battle took place. It’s a much larger holiday in the U.S. That’s because activists in the ‘60s wanted a way to raise the awareness of the American people for Mexican culture. It worked. Americans love to party! And Cinco de Mayo made a tasty holiday with all of those tacos, enchiladas, and burritos.

Cinco de Mayo Low-Carb Fiesta Ideas


A Mexican feast isn’t a feast without salsa and chips, but on a low-carb diet, tortilla chips are not on the acceptable foods list. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the salsa, but you do have to find something different to dip in it. How about some crunchy pork rinds, homemade cheese chips, or microwaved pepperoni slices? My kids used to open up a package of cream cheese, plop it onto a salad plate, pour some salsa over the top, and then scoop it all up with low-carb almond thins. And while you at it, don’t forget to open up an avocado or two for some delicious guacamole.

Burrito Bowl: Just as sandwiches and burgers can be eaten without the bread, tacos, enchiladas, and burritos can also be eaten in a bowl without the tortillas. To make it easy, and more tasty, simply throw your meat (chicken, beef, or pork) into a crock pot, add some chopped onions, bell peppers, garlic, and a can or two of green chilies, and then let it cook on low heat for the day. You could also add a can of black soybeans, drained, some green salsa, or chopped tomatillos if you want to.

At dinner time, simply smash the mixture into chunks or shreds, and scoop it into a bowl. You can top the burrito filling with salsa, sour cream, grated cheese, diced avocado, sliced olives, green onions, or some chopped jalapenos.

Mexican Fajitas: This is traditionally made with sliced beef or chicken, but you could use pork, turkey breast, or even shrimp if you wanted to. Slice the meat into thin slices (keep shrimp whole), then cut each slice into thick matchsticks. Place in a large bowl. Sprinkle the meat with about 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Add 1/4 cup lime juice, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, and a little sweet basil. Some garlic and onion powder would also be nice. Allow the meat to marinate for several hours to tenderize.

At serving time, slice up some onions, jalapeno peppers, and sweet bell peppers. It’s prettier if you use a couple of different colored peppers. Drain the meat well, then saute it with the veggies in a large frying pan until it’s as done as you like it. Add some chopped cilantro and continue cooking until the cilantro wilts. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

While you don’t have to stick with traditional Cinco de Mayo foods, my life has been a bit crazy lately, so I haven’t been stepping out of the box too much. Plus, corn tortillas easily fit into my 60-carb meal plan.